True Grich is dedicated to one of my all-time favorite Angels - Bobby Grich.Bob-Bay! was fearless, and made watching baseball fun. True Grich is all about having fun talkin' baseball. So, come on in and don't be afraid.

"It’s good for your soul to give yourself completely to something you have no control over."
Ben (Jimmy Fallon) from the movie - Fever Pitch

December 18, 2012

I firmly believe the Angels are a better team with Peter
Bourjos on the field. So, I’m sure you
can imagine that as the rumors surrounding the possibility of trading Bourjos circulate,
I feel like standing on top of the 'Big A' and shouting “NOOOOOOO!”

When most people look at Bourjos, they see a guy with “game-changing”
speed, a great glove and not much more. When
I think of Bourjos, I think of Jacoby Ellsbury.
That’s right – Jacoby Ellsbury.

Both players are 6’ 1” and Bourjos weighs just ten pounds
less (175 lbs.). Bourjos happens to be
four years younger than Ellsbury and in my mind – could be the same kind of
player. Ellsbury made his major league
debut when he was 23; as did Bourjos.
In 2011 at 24 years of age, Bourjos gave us a glimpse of what he could
become.

That year he hit .270 with 12 homeruns, 11 triples, 22
stolen bases, with a respectable 4.8 WAR.
That 4.8 WAR is better than 5 of the 6 seasons Ellsbury has had in the
big leagues. And when you consider Ellsbury
didn’t have his break out season until he was 27 years old, it gives us reason
for optimism.

Given the playing time and appropriate number of at-bats,
Peter Bourjos could be a star in this league.
Is that a reach? I don’t think
so. Maybe he won’t hit 32 homeruns like
Ellsbury did in 2011, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he hit more than 20. If you’ve ever seen Bourjos in person, one of
the things you might notice is how muscular his forearms are. Okay, I know that probably sounds strange, but I remember the first time I noticed because it really surprised me. He’s not some
skinny kid with a lot of speed. He’s an
athlete who was made to play baseball.

Look, I know that I’m the last person in the world who
should try to play talent evaluator and I have no idea how to break down a
player’s swing, but I have seen Bourjos do things on a field that help his team
win ball games. His background as the
son of coach and as a player who had made adjustments at every stop in his
baseball career, suggest to me that he could be something special.

We already know what he can do on defense and on the base
paths and I think it’s time to see what he can do with 500-600 at bats as
well. The upside is too great to pass
up. I believe in Bourjos’ bat and I’m
basing that on what he was able to do in 2011.
In three of the months of that year (April, June and August) he hit over
.300; in fact he had an OBP of .340, .365, and .367 in those months as
well. Those numbers are good enough for
me to believe there’s a lot of potential there.

There’s no question that an outfield that has both Trout and
Bourjos in it would be among the best in baseball. Factor
in Josh Hamilton, who is no slouch as a defender and you have a group of
players that will help the Angels pitching staff sleep better at night.

I know the Angels will most likely make a move to add pitching
depth and that will come at the expense of one of their players. Given the choice – I would rather see the
Angels move 29 year old Kendrys Morales and keep Bourjos (and Mark Trumbo for
that matter).

Which lineup would you prefer; a line up with Trumbo as DH and
Bourjos in CF or a lineup with Trumbo in LF and Morales at DH (take the poll on the right)? Given the choice, I’ll take the one with Bourjos
for the better all-around lineup. I understand that Morales helps balance the lineup as a switch-hitter, but he's going to walk next year and Bourjos just makes the team better as a whole, in my opinion.

It needs to be said; Keep Peter Bourjos! Angel fans have already had to watch fan favorite, Torii Hunter go to another team; don't add insult to injury by trading Bourjos as well.

Cheryl's entry (she took 2nd place) for a contest in the Orange County Register

We Will Never Forget...

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

We Will Never Forget...

Nick Adenhart 1986-2009

Baseball Quote of the Moment

It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. ~A. Bartlett Giamatti, "The Green Fields of the Mind," Yale Alumni Magazine, November 1977

Mighty Maicer

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If you build it, they will come...

Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the game and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come.